Pete Clarke Wrote:
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> I disagree that this indicates us being hardwired
> to reject phoniness; the value of original art is
> that, for each artist, there is a finite resource.
> The paintings of a highly regarded artist who
> produced little in his lifetime are worth more,
> generally speaking.

But still there must be some hardwiring involved that allows us to discriminate otherwise a Vermeer would be indistinguishable from a child's doodling.

>
> Fakes undermine the whole basis of collecting -
> not only do they dilute the available pool of work
> but they undermine confidence in original works.
>

Okay let's switch from artwork to food and see if we're (meaning animals in general) hardwired to reject phoniness. I'll put a real hamburger and a fake hamburger in front of my dog. She promptly eats the real hamburger. If she wasn't hardwired to reject 'phoniness' then she would eat the fake hamburger as willingly as she would eat the real one. But she doesn't clearly she prefers real hamburgers and is hardwired to reject phony ones, no matter how elaborate the fake.